I bought a rope a while ago, a nice 60m Top Gun II, and thought I was more than capable of uncoiling it back at the flat. Needless to say I've now got a lovely twisted rope. I was climbing on it the other day after I thought I had got all the twists out but clearly not as I could see it twist back down the climb after a top rope route.

Any of the more experienced climbers out there have any hints / tips / advice on the best way to get it uncoiled easily - I'm still looking for a perfect length abseil to try and flush the twists out....

Also, more importantly, does this have any implications on the lifespan / strength of the core if some muppet doesn't uncoil the rope properly in the first place? I've had a look on the Beal website (and done a quick google) but not found much on this.

Thoughts / comments / advice (abuse?) - I can't have been the first person to do this....

On 20/12/2010 nmonteith wrote:>No need to find a big cliff. Just drag the rope along the flat ground for>100m or so and all those twists will be gone. I do this as soon as I buy>a new rope and I never get any twists.

Not trying to be a smartass, but doesnt that pick up a whole bunch of other stuff from the ground? If we arnt supposed to stand on it, is it really ok to drag it?

Chuck it off Echo Pt lookout, during peak season, with hundreds of tourists around.

Expert tip: tie one end to the railing prior to launch.

I read a great story about 15 years ago (in Thrutch I think?) of some guys (Keith Bell and friends?) who scrounged a bunch of rope from this art installation, and halfway through a particularly boozy night decided that the best way to untangle it all was to drive up to Echo Pt and chuck it off. In their goony haze they forget to tie it to anything, but after watching several hundred metres of rope whiz out into the inky blackness, gouging a smoking slot into the railing, they realised something was amiss and managed to get it tied off.

Apparently the "TWANG" and jolt of the rope coming taut was rather memorable (one of the guys may have had a near death experience, almost following the rope over the railing too, but my memory of the exact story is, like the story itself, lost in a goony haze).

On 20/12/2010 Gavo wrote:>Not trying to be a smartass, but doesnt that pick up a whole bunch of>other stuff from the ground? If we arnt supposed to stand on it, is it>really ok to drag it?

Ropes are designed to withstand large falls and sharp edges. Standing on them is fine (unless you are wearing crampons). I just drag mine along my local footpath - don't do it on a road as there is potentially oil or other petro chems on it.

"I tied one end to a tree and the other to myself. I then just jumped off my local cliff. It seemed to work ok until I hit the ground. 200 foot rope...50 foot cliff. I had to jump off that damn cliff 4 times but I got the rope uncoiled".

I would have thought absieling, lowering and falling on the rope would do a much better job of forcing any surface material into the core. I think some people are overly paranoid about their gear. Standing on a rope is not a serious problem.

On 21/12/2010 sliamese wrote:>Do u seriously believe that?? If i honestly thought there were tiny shards>cutting the core of my rope, id take up golf!!!

Well that is exactly what can happen when dirt migrates from the sheath into the core (however it happens). Hence dirt, along with UV exposure, abrasion on sharp edges, multiple falls, chemicals etc etc can reduce the life expectancy of dynamic ropes.

I am not super careful with my ropes, but I do use a rope bag/ground sheet, and I don't deliberately step on it either. Just good practice I think...plus ropes are expensive and if it prolongs its life, then all the better.

" Avoid stepping on your rope. Besides the potential of cutting, stepping on a rope will grind dirt into the core and increase the possibility of internal abrasion." from Bluewater tech manual

"Do not step on your rope. Stepping on a rope, while not so bad in itself, can cause dirt and crystals to get forced through the sheath, abrading the core with each use." from Sterling tech manual

I'm not exactly dancing a jig on the rope every morning. I think occasionally accidentally stepping on it will do no damage. Certainly dragging it along a footpath or a grassy oval wouldn't harm it at all.

On 21/12/2010 nmonteith wrote:>I'm not exactly dancing a jig on the rope every morning. I think occasionally>accidentally stepping on it will do no damage. Certainly dragging it along>a footpath or a grassy oval wouldn't harm it at all.

yeah...certainly agree with that. Was just commenting on the "standing on ropes is fine" comment.

... and back to the question ... you can get most of the twists out of your rope without dragging it around a paddock. Back in your flat, flake the rope out on the floor, then start at one end, flaking it into another pile, paying attention to the twist as you go. You'll find the twist starts accumulating in the original pile until it makes it impossible to flake into the new pile without twist. Before that happens, stop, and working back towards the other end of the rope, whip big sections of rope as you go. When you've worked the excess twist all the way to the far end end, go back to where you were, and start flaking into the rope into the new pile again. My wife loves it when I do this while she's watching television. You might have to perform this operation several times. It may or may not work well, but it's a good excuse to play with your new rope.

>>Also, more importantly, does this have any implications on the lifespan>/ strength of the core if some muppet doesn't uncoil the rope properly>in the first place? >>No.
It could if you follow the Alexander school of knot resolution.